The Return Of The Genius Ranker Of All Times [EN]: Chapter 37

Part 37.

Hidden Field.

A field hidden within a field.

Unlike the secret dungeons that almost every city has, Hidden Fields were rare even in the Empire.

In fact, Do-hyun had only seen the Warrior’s Habitat in Raven as a Hidden Field.

‘They say they’re occasionally seen in the New Continent, unlike the Main Continent…’

That was only when users accidentally discovered them while completing quests for different races in areas rarely visited.

This place, which could be said to be the most frequented by users, was an exception.

As a weekly content, this forest, where users enter every week, had never seen a Hidden Field, let alone a secret dungeon.

Well, it was inevitable.

‘It’s structured so that you can only enter by encountering the High-Level Spirit, Periel.’

Following the insane prerequisite of achieving 10,000 Purification Points, there was even the gathering condition of bringing the Contaminated Root within three days.

It was easy enough for Do-hyun, who had the Eye of Truth.

Judging by the standards of ordinary users, the difficulty was ridiculously high.

Conditions that require both exploration and combat abilities?

However, looking at the sight of the Hidden Field unfolding before his eyes, he could understand those conditions.

Swoosh-

Wriggle.

A forest filled with land as turbidly contaminated as the field’s name suggested.

The earth stained with something black revealed between the bushes, and the faded, lifeless trees.

And many dangerous monsters.

[Her Wish]

-Grade: Sudden Quest

-Description: Periel, the High-Level Spirit of Nature.

She had been looking for someone to fulfill her wish for a long time.

That is to enter the cave where the Spirit Stone is sealed and retrieve the Spirit Stone that is being contaminated.

However, a certain barrier is blocking the Spirit’s entry.

A situation where the power of a race other than the Spirit is needed to enter.

However, she had almost given up because finding the key to enter was not easy, but she gained an invaluable lifeline in you.

Become a ray of hope for her.

-Contaminated Spirit Stone (0 / 1)

-Quest Success: Linked Quest occurrence, Periel’s Blessing

-Quest Failure: Linked Quest and reward deletion

‘To break through numerous monsters in such an environment and find and bring back the Contaminated Spirit Stone…’

Looking at the conditions, the most suitable race was the Elves.

They were almost the only nature-friendly race that possessed both excellent gathering and hunting skills.

The problem was that as the Elves began to interact with the Apostles, they started to carry out troublesome purification work through the Apostles.

Naturally, the number of times Elves purified this place decreased, and the task of finding Contaminated Roots also decreased.

In that situation, a human appeared as the right person….

It was natural for Periel to be anxious.

[I believe in you. You are a more excellent person than any Elf I have seen. I have been waiting for a human like you.]

“…Didn’t you say you didn’t know it would be a human at one point?”

[……Hmm hmm. I think I’ve developed prejudices about races from living for a long time. From now on, I’m going to abandon my preconceived notions about humans.]

Of course, now she was right next to him, sending eyes full of trust.

She had been displeased at one point, but her change of attitude was amazing, but in fact, it was a very natural thing from her point of view.

She had completely removed the roots in the vicinity, eliminating the threat that would have existed in the future, and Do-hyun was currently the only person who could bring the Spirit Stone.

[Honestly, I wish I could ask you to remove all the contaminated roots in the forest, but it’s a pity that I can’t.]

Spirits are a race that is more certain of rewarding than anyone else.

This was due to the Spirit’s innate nature of being clear about beginnings and ends, but it was almost mandatory for High-Level Spirits.

This was because High-Level Spirits would damage their souls and lose their power as Spirits if they did not give a reward commensurate with the favor they received.

‘That’s a bit of a shame for me too.’

Do-hyun was also sorry to miss the opportunity to suck more honey [exploit the situation for personal gain].

Jihad was looking at him with a salty look as if saying, ‘Were you thinking of freeloading even more here?’, but Do-hyun no longer paid attention.

[Remaining Time – 00 : 58 : 21]

Rather, he was somewhat concerned about the tournament time….

“…Are you really sure it’s okay to just enter and leave without any problems?”

[That’s right.]

“The field won’t close or anything, right?”

[Of course. If that were the case, I would never be able to bring the Spirit Stone, and that’s something I would rather avoid.]

“Hmm…”

Just listening to the words, it doesn’t seem to be a big problem.

Since the entry of the Apostles will be prohibited again after the tournament ends, it’s ambiguous to enter this place until next week.

If he reveals all the circumstances to the Elves and enters, it seems like things will become troublesome….

‘Okay. Let’s clear it now.’

If it were other conditions, it would be a very advantageous condition for Do-hyun, who has the Eye of Truth, as long as he finds the Spirit Stone and comes out.

If it doesn’t work out, he can just look around for an hour and leave.

Swish.

Do-hyun, who made the decision, smiled and took a step.

He felt a strange sensation as the translucent barrier passed through his body, and after that, he heard Periel’s voice filled with earnestness.

[Human, I hope you can return safely.]

At the same time, a message appeared.

[Entering the Hidden Field ‘Land of Contaminated Spirits’.]

[If you bring out the Contaminated Spirit Stone, the Hidden Field will disappear, and rewards will be given according to your performance.]

[The monsters of the forest are watching you.]

[The monsters of the forest are watching you.]

….

‘This is the Land of Contaminated Spirits.’

He had successfully entered the Hidden Field.

And then it was.

Thump-!

A rough sound was heard as if they had been waiting for Do-hyun to enter.

Instinctively, he swung Cheonbyeon, and a heavy sensation followed with a spark along with a clang-.

A monster about twice the size of a large wolf was drooling and biting Cheonbyeon.

“Look at these bastards.”

Moreover, there was not just one monster.

Growl……! Grrr…….

Two, three, five…….

As if it were true that they were watching, a dozen of them were surrounding him without giving him a chance to look around the field.

Judging by the drool, they seemed to be salivating at the prey that had rolled in after a long time.

But there was something the guys didn’t know.

-How dare you……! Leave it to us, Master.

-Liza!

-Tadakyi! Deploy!

The number on this side was by no means four.

[Guardian ‘Jihad Black’ summons Undead.]

[Using Legion Manipulation, all are judged as one entity.]

[More than 50% of the Legion’s Undead are judged as monsters from the Lower City. Mana consumption is reduced.]

[The 1st Legion Commander, ‘Pain’, has been summoned.]

….

[The 2nd Legion Commander ‘Ogre’ has been summoned.]

Roar- Ugh!

Tadak, Tadak!

The Outlaw Legion led by Pain and the Bulky Legion led by Ogre.

As numerous Undead, numbering well over 20, rose from the ground, the monsters began to step back in embarrassment.

They thought they had the advantage in numbers, so they surrounded him, but they felt threatened because that was not the case.

If they were ordinary beasts, they would retreat at this point, but they were not beasts but monsters with only the instinct to destroy.

[Elite Grade]

[Elite Grade]

….

[Elite Grade]

Moreover, they were not just any monsters, but all of them had Elite Grades.

They were higher-level guys than the monsters in Area A.

The one that seemed to be the leader, a particularly large guy, took a step forward,

Roar! Growl!

As if they had lost their spirit, the other guys barked loudly and rushed in.

And as if they heard the commotion, the monsters surrounding the area were increasing in real-time.

“They’re giving me a grand initiation ceremony.”

-That’s right, Master.

At that, Do-hyun cut down the monster he was facing right in front of him, then raised the corners of his mouth and took a stance.

“Let’s move on quickly since we don’t have time.”

-Roger!

-Yes, Master.

-Lizariliza!

With those words, they also took their stances, and the battle began.

* * *

[The Elite Monster of the Land of Contaminated Spirits has been defeated.]

[The Elite Monster of the Land of Contaminated Spirits has been defeated.]

….

[The Elite Monster of the Land of Contaminated Spirits has been defeated.]

[Acquired traces of the monster.]

[Acquired traces of the monster.]

….

After finishing a round of battle, Do-hyun, who had finally put down Cheonbyeon, took a deep breath.

“Ugh, they keep swarming in, really.”

-Tell me about it. I think I caught about 50 of them. Does this mean my location is marked somewhere, Master?

-Lizariliza……!

-Hmm……!

They seemed to be exhausted as well, and they were drooping.

In the case of the monsters in Area A, the number that a user can generally deal with at once does not exceed ten.

What if they were monsters here that were stronger than the guys in Area A?

Even if it’s not ten, but more than 50?

‘If I were alone, the fight would have been longer.’

Even Do-hyun would have been very annoyed.

“Good job, Pain, Ogre. Your roles were big.”

Roar-

Tadak!

In that respect, the role of the Undead Legion was very large.

The systematic and meticulous combat method of the Outlaw Legion commanded by Pain and the reckless charge like the tank corps of the Ogre Legion were very useful in such a brawl.

Tadak.

Especially, Pain’s role was big among them.

While Ogre’s intelligence is low, so simple roles such as sweeping away and charging are all he can do.

Pain is doing both intelligent combat and command at the same time, more than most users.

‘Is it because Jihad has grown a lot, Pain’s specs have also increased a lot.’

Now, it’s okay to write Requiem often without much trouble.

Considering that it’s still at a level where he hasn’t regained his original power, bringing Pain as the Legion Commander can be said to be a divine move.

When you think about it, the boss who pushed Do-hyun the most was him.

-……Master? I’m the one who handles the Undead.

Tadak? Tadak…….

-What, you punk? It’s not like I’m just cheering. How subtly I control mana with hand gestures. Sigh, what would you know, you who only know how to command.

Tadak? Tadak.

-Oh? Are you talking back these days? Do you want to do a duck walk?

……Seeing that the guy who was so full of force is now doing a duck walk under Jihad, I don’t know why I feel sorry for him.

Do-hyun, who made eye contact with Pain, slightly turned his gaze.

‘I will definitely listen to your wish.’

What Pain wanted was the safety of his kind and revenge on the god who killed his kind.

As the successor of Kasiyar, Do-hyun is virtually an enemy of God, so in order to achieve this, he had no choice but to clear the Main Quest.

As he progresses through the Main Quest, the day will come when he will naturally fulfill Pain’s wish.

So Do-hyun, who decided to think about that later, decided to focus on the present right now.

[Acquire traces of the monster.]

[Acquire traces of the monster.]

….

‘Only junk items came out. There’s no mention of bonus points being given either. Does catching monsters not have a big impact on the score?’

He was checking the rewards and making judgments when it was.

[Acquired a strange trace.]

“Hmm?”

Among the traces of the monsters, a trace with a different name caught his eye.

It wasn’t just the name that was different.

Unlike the traces of the monsters that looked like pollutant debris, this one clearly had a spherical shape, even though it was contaminated.

“…Bead?”

The texture is similar when touched.

Most of all, what’s strange is…….

[The Eye of Truth is activated.]

‘Why is this here?’

The Eye of Truth, which had not been activated until he obtained the bead, was activated the moment he acquired the bead.

The moment he had doubts about it.

[An unidentified egg reacts to the foreign energy.]

[The unidentified egg consumes the energy.]

[Fullness increases.]

[Current fullness is 35.]

“Huh?”

The egg, which had been motionless, reacted,

[The ‘Intruder’ of the Land of Contaminated Spirits becomes aware that the energy in the traces he left behind has disappeared.]

[Sudden Quest, ‘Intruder of the Land of Spirits’ occurs.]

[Find the intruders hidden here within the time limit and confirm their identities.]

‘Intruders?’

Do-hyun’s face hardened at the message that followed soon after.